Can opener key



0. R. WADE CAN OPENER KEY Feb. 7, 1939.

Filed Oct. 14, 1935 INVENTOR.

OMER R. WADE ATTORNEY.

Patented F ch. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN OPENER KEY OmerR. Wade, San Bruno, Calif.

Application October 14, 1935, Serial No. 44,872

2 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to a can or container having a canopening key removably positioned thereon, and in such a manner that thekey may be readily removed from the 5 can and used for opening said canafter it has been sealed.

nent manner, the said key being of such construction that it may bedetached from its position on the can with a slight pull of the fingers,and thereafter said key used in a conventional manner for opening thecan.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can having a topthereon, which top is provided with a recess or depression therein intowhich a can opening kay is adapted to be fixedly held in a position tobe readily detached from the can by a person desiring to remove thecontents from the said can.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a can and a can openingkey therefor that will be superior in point of simplicity,inexpensiveness of construction, positiveness of operation,

and facility and convenience in use and general efficiency.

In this specification and the annexed drawing, the invention isillustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to such form,

because it may be embodied in other forms; and

it is also to be understood that in and by the claims following thedescription, it is desired to cover the invention in whatsoever form itmay be embodied.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a can top having a key mounted thereon inaccordance with tion.

my inven- Fig. 2 is a cross section taken through Fig. 1

on the line 2-4.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the can opening In detail theconstruction illustrated in the drawing comprises a can which may be ofcylindrical or rectangular, or any other desirable cross section, oneend of said can being clos or cap designated by the numeral 2.-

ed by a lid The end of the can and the peripheral flange 3 of the lid ortop are united together in a seam ventional type of capping apparatus.

by a con- The central portion 4 of the lid or cap 2 lies below the planeof the flange 3, and between the center portion 4 and the flange 3,there is provided an annular groove or depression 5. The can body I isprovided with a tear strip around the circumference thereof, one end ofwhich is adapted to be inserted within a key so that when the key isadvanced around the can, the tear strip is peeled away from the canbody, thus permitting the cap or lid to be removed therefrom.

It is current practice for the can manufacturer to provide the keys foropening cans of this character, and said keys are either looselyattached to the cans or are joined-thereto by soldering, spot welding orthe like. In this invention I have provided a key 6, which consists of afinger gripping portion 1 and a shank 8, said shank having a slottherethrough, through which the end of the tear strip on the can maypass in order to open the can.

The key is preferably made out of round wire, and the shank end thereofis flattened to a rectangular cross section. The working end 8 of theshank is bent at right angles to the shank, and the thicknes of saidworking end is substantially the same as that of the groove 5, wherebythe portion 8 will snugly fit within the groove 5. The flattened end ofthe shank 8 is provided with a button or embossment 9 thereon.

In operation, the end 8 of the key is pressed 80 into the groove of thecan lid, and in forcing said key into the groove, the button 9 creates asmall vertical slot in the adjacent face of the can groove. The end 8 ofthe key is then moved a slight distance around the groove 5, forming asit slides an indenture which acts to lock the key in the groove. Theconstruction of the key and cap or lid and the action of moving the keyinto the cap, finally positioning it therein, is similar to thatoftheconventional and well-known bayonet joint. The shank 8 of the keyis preferably provided with a sharp comer of the bend thereof, or thesaid shank may be treated in some other suitable manner to facilitateits being broken, whenever it is desired to remove said key from the canlid. Once the key has been broken from the lid, the portion 8 remains inthe groove.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, I haveprovided a depression H in the center portion i2 of the can lid orcover. The depression H is of an area which will snugly receive the bendend l3 of a can openingkey M. In this form of the invention, the end I3is forced into one end of the depression II, and then moved transverselyto the opposite end of said depression to maintain the key in thedepression. The end ii of the key M is provided with a button orprotuberance ii on the face thereof to facilitate the locking of the keyin the depression.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire tosecureby Letters Patent is:

1. A rip strip can having a key, formed of wire attached thereto, saidkey being of wire bent upon itself to form a handle and a straightshank, said shank being of flattened cross section, and having a smallportion at its extreme free end bent at right angles to the remainingportion, said small portion engaging a slot in the end of said can, andsaid short portion havinga small projection on one of its faces, saidslot being of substantially the same width as said shank, and saidprojection frictionally engaging a groove in a face of said slot, thebend between the major portion of said shank and said small portionforming a weakened section to permit the key to be manually separated atsaid section from said small portion.

2. A rip strip can having a key, formed of wire attached thereto, saidkey being of wire bent upon itself to form a handle and a straightshank, said shank being of flattened cross section, and having a smallportion at its extreme free end bent at right angles to the remainingportion, said small portion engaging a slot in the end of said can, andsaid short portion having a small projection on one of its faces, saidslot being of substantially the same width as said shank, and saidprojection frictionally engaging a groove in a face of said slot, thebend between the major portion of said shank and said small portionforming a weakened section to permit the key to be manually separated atsaid section from said small portion, and having a slot in the key shankengaging the rip strip of the can when the key is removed from the can.

OMER R. WADE.

